Joe Better Days

Better Days is the fourth studio album from R&B singer Joe. The Better Days album was released in 2001, reaching #32 on the Billboard 200 and #4 on the R&B chart. "Better Days" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best R&B Album. "Let's Stay Home Tonight" was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

Long-awaited reissue of an interesting and rare masterpiece by jazz guitar virtuoso Joe Pass, who took on jazz funk! This is the first release on Gwyn Records, a minor label in California, and features a very impressive lineup. Paul Humphrey and Earl Palmer on drums, Carol Kaye (label owner) and Ray Brown on bass, J.J. Johnson, Tom Scott, and Conte Candoli on horns, this is truly a historical session that brought together the top musicians of the West Coast at the time. From the cool funk of "Better Days" at the beginning of the session, almost the entire album was a storm of jazz funk. "Free Sample" by Joe Sample, "Burning Spear," with its impressive undulating beat, "Head Start," with its too-subtle bass line, and the boogie shuffle "Gotcha!"…

Long-awaited reissue of an interesting and rare masterpiece by jazz guitar virtuoso Joe Pass, who took on jazz funk! This is the first release on Gwyn Records, a minor label in California, and features a very impressive lineup. Paul Humphrey and Earl Palmer on drums, Carol Kaye (label owner) and Ray Brown on bass, J.J. Johnson, Tom Scott, and Conte Candoli on horns, this is truly a historical session that brought together the top musicians of the West Coast at the time. From the cool funk of "Better Days" at the beginning of the session, almost the entire album was a storm of jazz funk. "Free Sample" by Joe Sample, "Burning Spear," with its impressive undulating beat, "Head Start," with its too-subtle bass line, and the boogie shuffle "Gotcha!"…

The Blackbyrds were a jazz-funk group with thick R&B streaks running down their backs. Assembled by Donald Byrd in 1974, the group's original members – percussionist Pericles "Perk" Jacobs, Jr., drummer Keith Killgo, keyboardist Kevin Toney, reeds player Allan Barnes, bassist Joe Hall, guitarist Barney Perry – were mined from Howard University's music department, where the doctor and jazz legend was an instructor. (Other key players included guitarist Orville Saunders and saxophonist/flautist Steve Johnson.)

Far from being a casual collection of rejects, there is plenty of mellow gold from Joe Pass on this posthumously released second volume from what must have been a memorable gig at this Oakland, California night spot. The two-guitar quartet format was an optimum showcase for Pass' nimble, melodic bop electric guitar, for the greatly unsung fellow guitarist John Pisano offers inspired harmonic, rhythm or obligato support at all times, giving Pass an extra push from underneath. On "I Remember You" and "What Is This Thing Called Love?," Pisano even gives Pass some solo chases which generate a lot of steam, and the gentle semi-bossa nova treatment of Neal Hefti's "Repetition" also bring out the best in both. Bassist Monty Budwig (subbing for Jim Hughart) and drummer Colin Bailey are also in superb form throughout this can't-miss outing. The sound quality is OK, though hum can be heard in some quiet stretches.

This recording was the third and final matchup between guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass and, unlike the first two (which were both made for Concord), this is a duo date rather than a quartet session. Pass was just beginning to gain recognition for his remarkable unaccompanied solos, but Ellis had not recorded in such a sparse setting before. They complement each other quite well on such tunes as "Love for Sale," "Seven Come Eleven," "Oh, Lady Be Good," "I've Found a New Baby," and two versions of "Cherokee."

After recording the classic For Django and Catch Me sets for Pacific Jazz, guitarist Joe Pass got stuck recording commercial material for that label's subsidiary World Pacific. This LP finds Pass and a clearly bored Chet Baker (on flügelhorn) performing some of Bob Florence's duller arrangements for an orchestra and distracting background voices. The music consists of then-current and now mostly forgotten pop tunes (Eliot Tiegel in the liner notes raves about how great the songs are) including "It Was a Very Good Year," "What Now My Love," "The Phoenix Love Theme," and the one tune still remembered, "Dindi." Pass has a few worthwhile spots, but is often cut off by the singers or the overly tight charts. A historical curiosity at best.

Guitarist Joe Pass came to fame 18 years before this recording with Virtuoso, also released on the Pablo label. In 1991, he was still playing occasional unaccompanied concerts, and he had neither run out of ideas nor gone stale despite the often familiar repertoire. This CD (recorded at the now-defunct Vine Street Bar & Grill in Hollywood) finds Pass performing a typical set filled with swing standards (such as "Stompin' at the Savoy," "Love for Sale," and "Indiana"), some more recent material (Ivan Lins' "Daquilo Que Eu Sei" and Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are"), a couple of originals, and "Mack the Knife." Through it all, Pass shows that he is one of the few guitarists who never needed other instrumentalists in order to form a complete group sound.

The very first release by the Concord label was a quartet set featuring guitarists Herb Ellis and Joe Pass, bassist Ray Brown, and drummer Jake Hanna. Ellis and Pass (the latter was just beginning to be discovered) always made for a perfectly complementary team, constantly challenging each other. The boppish music (which mixes together standards with "originals" based on the blues and a standard) is quite enjoyable with the more memorable tunes including "Look for the Silver Lining," "Honeysuckle Rose," "Georgia," "Good News Blues," and "Bad News Blues." This was a strong start for what would become the definitive mainstream jazz label.

Kazumi Watanabe - To Chi Ka (1980) {Better Days Japan 28CY-2368 rel 1988}
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© 1980, 1988 Better Days / Nippon Columbia Japan | 28CY-2368
Jazz / Fusion / Contemporary Jazz / Guitar

Recorded in 1980, most of the world was drifting away from fusion, but Watanabe was just starting to get into it. He more greatly defined his fusion persona in subsequent works, but this album is a very fine early stab at the fusion genre. Watanabe is a fabulous, and much under-rated guitarist. The writing on this album shows a strong, worthy grasp of American fusion.